Kalm Sieges
The Kalm Sieges are a series of gauntlet combat scenarios that require taking down an army of monsters while protecting the gates of Kalm, in particular a critical NPC that when killed will result in defeat. Failing does not carry permanent consequences as the town will simply reset to before the siege began, allowing the player to retry the gauntlet without further penalty. For articles on the quests themselves, see: Kalm Siege, Kalm Siege II, Kalm Siege III. There are many ways the player can make the sieges easier to handle, including both recruiting new allies and weakening the enemy forces. Ways to make the sieges easier * Defeat the optional boss Darianius. If this boss is not defeated, some monsters on the north side will spawn with Vampiric Aura and the Ghoul Master effect which causes up to five ghouls to join the siege for each of these monsters. Once the vampire is killed, this will no longer happen. * Recruit the Brothers. By defeating them in their quest the Brothers will join the northern defense team. They can hold out for a decent while on their own and use wide ranging stomps to stun and slow down enemies. Additionally, doing this is a requirement for the next step. * Recruit the Brothers' friends. After completing the first Kalm Siege, the Brothers - if recruited - will offer the optional quest Eidolon Challenge, sending you out to defeat and recruit four more Eidolons to the sieges: Titan, Pandemona, Typhon and Leviathan. Each of these provides useful buffs and spells during the siege, especially Typhon who is capable of casting the Holy spell. * Animate the Mithril Golem. Again after completing the first Kalm Siege, Alma will construct a Mithril Golem if you've already done her previous quests. Doing her quest Mithril Golem's Heart will awaken the golem and have it join in on sieges as a tank. It can buy you quite a bit of time. * Destroy the Corrupted Orcs base. During Kalm Siege II and Kalm Siege III, powerful corrupted orcs will join the enemy's forces. It is however possible to seek out their base and destroy it, which replaces them with significantly weaker golems and infernal demons. It is not necessary to destroy the Fountain of Blood or defeat Shemhazai to accomplish this, simply destroying all other units and buildings there is enough. Also, defeating Kilrog specifically will prevent him from showing up in Kalm Siege III to cover Adrammelech, making ending the battle quickly much easier. Additional Tips and Tricks * Use allies when you can, either Shadow or Eidolons from the Tower of Summoning. Both Quezacotl and Phoenix can be very useful during sieges, providing solid additional damage and healing capabilities. They won't do the sieges on their own or anything but having them around is definitely handy. Shadow meanwhile can be an incredible help during sieges, being able to easily hold off a side on his own, and his ability to teleport around if you've cleared the quest Lost Memories helps a lot as well. * Do not complete the quest Holy Knight too early. Doing so will eventually trigger Alma's disappearance, and she serves a useful role as a buffer and healer during sieges. On top of that, you may end up temporarily locked out of getting the Mithril Golem as well. Of course if you're capable of taking down Ultima this is no problem, but then, at that point the sieges should not pose a problem either. * Focus on clearing the south gate before the north gate. The enemy forces attacking the south gate are never particularly numerous but they will take down Cid very fast if left unattended. Best is to dispatch all of them fast and then focus all your energy on defending the north side. If you have multiple players or Shadow with you, you can split your own forces as the south gate shouldn't require too much attention. * Kill Adrammelech quickly. The big guy himself isn't too threatening or tanky and even if the normal enemies are becoming overwhelming it's still possible to take him out fast to complete the quest. * Consider having ways to cover or heal. If you find that Cid or Meliadoul are getting attacked and downed without you being able to stop it, consider switching your setup a bit; maybe the Save the Queen sword or some Chemist's potions are all you need. Do note that Izlude at the top gate will be covering Meliadoul most of the time as long as he remains alive.